The Governors

Catherine Blackburn - Foundation Governor; Chair

Catherine was elected Chair of Governors in September 2016. With a background in marketing, she currently works part time as a Business Consultant. In addition, to her role as School Governor, she is a Trustee at St Catherine’s Hospice and is a volunteer for the Surrey Young People’s Fund which helps disadvantaged young people assess training and employment.

Catherine has been a parishioner at St Joseph’s Church for over 25 years and has one son, Jack, who attended St Joseph’s Primary School. Alongside her various commitments, Catherine makes family and friends her priority and attempts to keep fit and healthy with lots of walking in the Surrey Hills.

Francis Cluett - Foundation Governor

Francis was appointed a foundation governor in 2018. Francis is a chartered civil engineer. Originally from the Midlands, he has lived in Dorking since 2001. He has a daughter and a son, both past pupils at St Joseph’s, who now attend St Andrew’s in Leatherhead.

Mary Collins - Foundation Governor

Mary was appointed a foundation governor in 2017 and sits on the Learning and Well-Being Committee. Mary has worked in Social Care for over 25 years, gaining her professional qualification as a Social Worker in Devon before moving to Surrey to become a Senior Manager. Mary currently works as a Commissioner in Adult Social Care.

Mary’s daughter previously attended St Joseph’s and now attends St Andrew’s in Leatherhead. Mary is a keen reader, participating in book clubs, is actively involved in the Dorking Junior Netball Club and enjoys country walks with her family and friends.

Sam Crome - Foundation Governor

Sam is an Assistant Headteacher at St Andrew’s Catholic School in Leatherhead, and has been teaching there for 6 years. He has three children, with his eldest son currently attending Reception at St Joseph’s.

Sam grew up in Norbury Park, Mickleham, and aside from a short stint in Leatherhead and then whilst away at university, has always lived in the Dorking area. His hobbies include running, following a range of sports, and reading as much as possible.

Patrick Furlong - Foundation Governor; Vice Chair

Patrick Furlong was born in Wexford, Ireland. With a Catholic upbringing, he attended Augustinian Secondary School. He left Ireland at the age 20 to study surveying at Brighton University and continued further studying at Reading University.

He has lived in Dorking now for over twenty years and feels at home here and very much part of the community with great friends in the Church and at St Joseph’s. He met and married an Irish girl and has three wonderful children.

All three children attend St Joseph's. As a family, they love walking and cycling in the beautiful Surrey countryside. He likes to go out across Denbies and Boxhill for a run and the occasional game of golf.

John Holland - Foundation Governor

John has lived in Dorking since 2002 and has 3 children at St josephs' as well as two older children at university. He had a Catholic upbringing in Bristol and then lived in Oxford for many years, before moving to Dorking and falling in love with the Surrey Hills.

He has worked in a variety of businesses from tech start-ups to multi-nationals, and currently designs IT systems for central government. John is committed to life-long learning, and has recently started studying for a maths qualification following his gap year! He is the finance lead for the Governors, and is also Treasurer of the finance committee at St Joseph's church.

FR. Tony Miller - Foundation Governor

Fr. Tony is the parish priest of our Catholic parish here in Dorking and chaplain to the school. He has been a priest since 1993 and has served in the parishes of Worthing and Crawley, as well as spending 8 years forming future priests at St John's Seminary, Wonersh and 6 years doing the same thing at the English College in Rome.

As well as his role as parish Priest, he also continues to teach part time in St John's Seminary.

Grant is a Dad of two children who are past pupils of St Joseph’s School and are both now in Years 7 and 10 at St Andrew’s Catholic Secondary School. Grant has served as a parent governor since 2011 and is currently chair of the Learning and Well-Being committee.

He is a keen follower of Dorking Rugby Club, Dorking Cricket Club and Dorkinians Football Club.

Carolyn Scrutton - Headteacher

PARENT GOVERNOR - VACANCY

Martin Stebbings - LA Governor; Chair of Resources Committee

Martin has been a Governor at St Joseph’s since September 2009. During this period, he has been involved with various committees and he is the current Chairman of the Resources Committee. He is an active parishioner at St Joseph’s Church, having lived within the Dorking Parish for the majority of his life.

Martin has worked for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service for around nineteen years, serving currently as an Operational Watch Commander locally.